Shine On
by colorful swirls
Summary: That day is the beginning. / In which, Nymphadora meets Remus Lupin, discovers her feisty streak, and adopts a strange liking for the name Tonks.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

She is thirteen and he is twenty-six-years old when they first meet.

* * *

"_Sirius_," she says with a warning edge in her voice. "Mum said you weren't allowed to bring friends over."

Sirius rolls his eyes and fluffs up her currently purple hair. "Don't worry, Nympha," he lounges on his chair, "your mother will never know Remus and James were here."

"Unless I tell her," she shoots back, and his eyebrows raise slowly, like he is doubting the possibility of that happening.

"You won't." Sirius smiles at her, squeezing her cheeks, as if she's five and he's her grandmother. "You're way too big of a goody two shoes, Nympha." He stands and stretches.

"They'll be here soon," he mutters, ignoring the affronted look on her face from his previous comment. "Go lock yourself in your room or something, please."

"Excuse me?" she gasps, and Sirius apologizes.

"I'm sorry," he says hastily. "I meant, go sit on your bed. No locking is needed." Noticing her face, he adds, "Please?"

"Not a chance in hell," she says, and his eyes widen. "I'm staying right here, so you can babysit me, like you're supposed to be."

He opens his mouth to argue.

"Or, I'll just tell my mum that you didn't babysit me, and you know how she can get.."

"You're evil," Sirius concludes. His little cousin grins, plopping down on the couch just as a knock on the door sounds around the room.

"I learn from the best."

* * *

That day is the day that a lot of things - love, rumors, names - begin.

Retrospectively, that is the day that a lot of things end, as well.

* * *

"What was your name again?" the one with the sandy hair asks politely - Remus, she thinks. Sirius is smiling broadly, a twinkle in his eye that anyone with intelligence would be quick to avoid.

"Tonks," she blurts, before her cousin can say "Nympha" and embarrass her (she's always cared about things like that). Her hand reaches out and hastily shakes Remus's, who seems a bit surprised.

"Er - it was my great-grandmother's name," Tonks explains quickly, looking up at the face of this handsome stranger that's thirteen years older than her.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tonks," he answers kindly, recovering his calm demeanor, and she thinks that she likes the sound of that.

_Tonks_. It's not such a horrible name, really.

And, this rebellion thing. That's not so bad, either.

* * *

James snorts into his bottle of firewhiskey. "I don't think she can do _that_, Sirius," he says, as Tonks turns a deep crimson color.

"No," Tonks says, carefully putting down her fork. She doesn't think her stomach can handle anymore after what Sirius has just suggested. "Metamorphaguses can change their appearance, true, but I don't think _that's_ possible."

"It's changing your appearance," Remus points out, then blushes, and Tonks smirks at him.

"Well, I could try, if you guys want," she drawls, and James - the sick bastard - looks up.

"_Don't_!" The look on her cousin's face has gone from joking to disgusted. "Nympha - "

"That isn't my name."

" - you will _not_ attempt to enlarge your boobs in front of my two very male and very _sick_ friends, and I am deeply sorry that I brought up the subject."

James is shaking with silent laughter in his chair, the whiskey jumping in and out of the bottle, while Remus struggles not to smile in the other corner of the room.

Sirius is still staring at her, his eyes hard and serious and pleading.

"I won't," Tonks answers solemnly, and her voice is wavering from the strain of holding back her amusement.

"Won't what?" Andromeda asks as she walks in the door, and all four of them freeze - three men, one thirteen year old girl.

"Come out," is what immediately comes out of Tonks' mouth, and James instantly bursts out laughing, the sound filling the room, while Remus allows himself to chuckle and Sirius stares at her like she has suddenly grown a third head.

"He's secretly gay," Tonks finishes, biting her lip, and Andromeda does nothing but send Sirius a questioning look, shrug, and walk into the kitchen.

"You _are_ evil!" he shouts as soon as her mother is through the kitchen door, and Tonks takes one look at Remus and James giggling on the couch and her own giggles begin to join theirs.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," she says apologetically after a few minutes. "It just came out. I didn't mean that."

"Nymphy - "

"Don't call me that!" she screams all of a sudden. Sirius jumps out of his chair.

"Come back!" Tonks calls, exasperated, when her cousin still hasn't come back after two minutes.

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Because," he says, his head popping up, "you're going to hex me!"

"No, I'm not." She rolls her eyes and turns to James, who is still laughing.

As she watches, he gulps, sitting up with effort. "You - " he points to Sirius - "and him." He nudges Remus. "The perfect couple," James manages before collapsing again.

The two look at each other and wrinkle their noses in disgust. "I'd rather you date my baby cousin than date me, Moony," Sirius says, then adds, "No offense."

"I'd take that. She's pretty cool." Remus smiles at her, James laughs, the look of disgust is gone and Sirius's face is - once again - gaping, Tonks just winks jokingly, though her heart has picked up a little.

_Puppy crush_, she thinks, and proceeds to ignore Remus the best she can for the rest of the night, to squash it the crush.

It works.

* * *

Until it_ doesn't_ work, years later, when she's grown and Remus is grown-er, and Sirius and James are dead and it turns out that he does think she's pretty cool.

Actually, he thinks she _more_ than pretty cool.

He's in _love_ with her, actually, and eventually, the two of them take what they've lost and make it into something different, something sort of like love and marriage and a son and a life.

Of course, life ends (too early), but love doesn't.

And so they shine on.

* * *

**Written For:**

**- The Dueling Tournament on HPFC, Round One.**

**- Pairing Diversity Bootcamp, Prompt #16 (restrospectively).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

**Reviews make my day. ;) And this definitely wasn't the best, but I think it turned out alright.**


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